Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (KZK) has cleared the acquisition of 8 filling stations located in Plovdiv, Burgas, Lovech, and Asenovgrad by NIS Petrol.

The deal for the acquisition of the 8 filling stations owned by 4 different companies was first announced in end-August.

NIS Petrol EOOD is 100%-owned by Serbia's Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), whose main business is oil and gas exploration and production, and importing, processing, transportation, and marketing of oil and oil products.

The Serbian oil and gas company is controlled by OAO Gazprom Neft.

Before receiving the latest clearance of KZK, the Gazprom-controlled company secured the acquisition of 19 filling stations in Bulgaria which supplied it with a share of around 0.6% of the retail fuel market.

KZK concludes that the deal will not lead to the emergence of a market participant with a dominant position.

KZK also notes that the fuel retail market in Bulgaria is relatively competitive with a moderate level of concentration and is characterized by a large number of participants, around 3200 traders, including filling station chains with a significant market share and a large number of independent filling stations.

Bulgaria's anti-trust watchdog states that the acquisition will not hamper efficient competition on the market and must be cleared.

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